Therapeutic recreation's contributions to Canada's National Recreation framework

In 2015 a national framework for recreation in Canada was ratified. It outlines five priority goal areas to enhance individual and community well-being. Although the Framework is based on the idea of partnerships, there are limited examples of the contributions the field of therapeutic recreation (TR) can make to achieve these aims. The purpose of this paper is to explore how TR programs and services in Canada address the goals of the Framework for Recreation in Canada. Eighteen practitioners participated in the study from British Columbia (n = 9), Alberta (n = 7) and Nova Scotia (n = 2). A diversity of participants and settings were represented and a wide variety of TR practices, ranging from specific programs to entire service delivery contexts, were described. The results are framed in relation to the strong, moderate and weak alignments demonstrated in the descriptions provided, along with identifying the unique contributions of the TR profession to the Framework's goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]